Ethics Opinions

Undercover Officer Planted by Prosecutor in Cell of Represented Defendant

 

Opinion rules that a prosecutor may instruct a law enforcement officer to send an undercover officer into the prison cell of a represented criminal defendant to observe the defendant's communications with other inmates in the cell.

 

Inquiry:

 

Two or more criminal defendants are charged with criminal offenses and are in custody. The prosecutor would like to advise the investigating law enforcement officers to "plant" an undercover officer, posing as an inmate, in the cell with the defendants. The undercover officer would be instructed to listen to the defendants' discussions of their cases. However, the undercover officer would also be instructed not to enter into these discussions, not to ask the defendants any questions about their cases, and not to give the defendants any advice about their cases.

 

May the prosecutor instruct the investigating officers to plant an undercover officer in the prison cell?

 

Opinion:

 

Yes, provided the prosecutor also instructs the officers to conduct their listening activities within all applicable constitutional and statutory limitations and, where necessary, to explain those limitations to the officers. This opinion is limited to the conduct of prosecutors. See Rule 4.2(a) ("During the representation of a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter unless the lawyer...is authorized by law to do so.")